{"id":1168,"date":"2025-04-14T14:30:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T12:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/?p=1168"},"modified":"2025-06-24T17:21:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T15:21:30","slug":"esg-regulation-from-constraint-to-strategic-transformation-lever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/2025\/04\/14\/esg-regulation-from-constraint-to-strategic-transformation-lever\/","title":{"rendered":"ESG Regulation: From Constraint to Strategic Transformation Lever"},"content":{"rendered":" \n
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\n ESG Regulation: From Constraint to Strategic Transformation Lever <\/h2>\n
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While the CSRD directive has been perceived by many companies as a constraint, it can also serve as a catalyst\u2014if not an accelerator\u2014of strategic transformations. This is possible on the condition that companies move beyond mere compliance and leverage it as a driver of resilience, differentiation, and governance, as emphasized by participants in the Regulatory Working Group, \u201cESG Governance as a Lever for Corporate Transformation,\u201d co-led by osapiens in partnership with ID \u2013 L\u2019Info Durable and L\u2019Agefi.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n

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While the CSRD directive establishes a new framework for non-financial transparency for companies, it also sparks, for some, a dynamic of strategic transformation. This was one of the key insights shared during the workshop dedicated to ESG governance as a lever for change. Gathered within the Regulatory Working Group \u2013 ESG Governance as a Lever for Corporate Transformation \u2013 participants exchanged their experiences and explored the conditions under which ESG governance can initiate sustainable transformation.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

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Some companies had already begun strategic reflections around their business model and impact. For them, the CSRD merely formalizes initiatives already underway. These are often players with a long-term vision, notably mid-sized companies (ETIs) or family groups, for whom the priority is to strengthen the company\u2019s resilience. \u201cThe approach is more about risks and the company\u2019s robustness, mainly seeking to seize financial opportunities and hedge risks, rather than solely aiming to reduce negative impacts,\u201d observed Cindy David, Senior Manager in sustainability and performance consulting at I Care by BearingPoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Regulatory Compliance to Strategic Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many other companies, however, the regulation has acted as a trigger. \u201cThe CSRD has pushed many companies to clarify what is material for them, leading to strategic discussions and the unlocking of budgets that would not have happened otherwise,\u201d stated J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Joos, ESG partner at KPMG. \u201cIt triggered the need, once an issue is deemed material, to be clear on objectives, strategy, and the means deployed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even when the CSRD acts as a catalyst, it often initiates a transformation dynamic by revealing risks. \u201cIt does not have a magic effect on strategy shifts,\u201d he qualified. \u201cCompanies that engage often do so because they face risks or events that push them to think in terms of resilience and impact.\u201d The arrival of an investor questioning the company\u2019s sustainability strategy or the growing pressure from certain clients, for example, can accelerate the process. \u201cWhen clients require their suppliers to commit to meeting their own ESG targets, this cascades throughout the value chain,\u201d illustrated J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Joos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the CSRD introduction, CSR policy structuring initiatives were mostly voluntary. Some opted for labels (B Corp, LUCIE, \u201cEngag\u00e9 RSE\u201d), while others adopted a corporate purpose or became purpose-driven companies. Others structured their CSR policy based on double materiality analysis and stakeholder dialogue, recalled Martin Richer, founding CEO of Management & RSE and director of Sciences Po\u2019s Executive Master Trajectoires Dirigeants. The directive changed the game by imposing what was previously a strategic choice: it generalizes the structuring exercise and pushes all concerned companies to clarify what is material to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is how the CSRD has been very useful: it enabled many companies to discover the benefits of a strategic reflection intertwined with sustainability, an exercise they had never really attempted before,\u201d continued Martin Richer. \u201cAnd it has indeed worked well. The CSRD sparked numerous discussions, especially around the concept of overall performance, and allowed moving beyond mere declarations to formulate real trajectories and objectives. For companies that embrace it, it becomes a lever for transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMonetizing Compliance\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe CSRD has brought a number of companies into topics that had never been addressed before. It really helped cast a wide net,\u201d confirmed Delphine Gibassier, expert in sustainable accounting and extra-financial reporting at Dix Septembre. This momentum is also felt internally: \u201cThe phenomenon is quite massive. Few companies subject to the CSRD have not integrated at least one person in charge of CSR within their finance teams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond risk management \u2014 better supply chain visibility, anticipation of geopolitical or climate uncertainties, diversification of sources \u2014 compliance can also open the door to strategic opportunities. Vincent Canu, head of France at osapiens, cited the European regulation on imported deforestation, which requires companies to trace certain commodities (coffee, cocoa, soy, timber, etc.) back to their place of production to ensure legal compliance and deforestation-free status. \u201cTraceability becomes a differentiating argument for consumers concerned with product origin transparency,\u201d he explained. By leveraging previously underutilized data, companies can structure higher value-added offerings. \u201cThis is a way to monetize compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among CSRD\u2019s contributions, structuring double materiality stands out as a particularly powerful lever. \u201cIt is a fundamental tool for strategy, not just reporting: it enables transforming business models and involves functions beyond CSR, such as sales,\u201d emphasized Delphine Gibassier. However, the exercise requires time, data, and involvement of the entire value chain, knowing that a lack of data does not exclude the materiality of an issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engaging All Stakeholders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This also implies engaging the board and executive committee. \u201cSome leaders sometimes perceive CSR as emotion or activism. One must come with facts, science, and dare to challenge preconceived ideas,\u201d insisted J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Joos. This is especially relevant in an increasingly polarized context, notably in the U.S., where the Trump administration fueled an anti-ESG discourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This transformation is not limited to CSR departments. To develop sustainable offerings aligned with sometimes contradictory consumer expectations, all functions must be mobilized: marketing, sales, innovation, and R&D, as panelists recalled. \u201cThere is a real narrative challenge: showing that a more sustainable product can also be more desirable, higher performing, and more efficient,\u201d noted J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Joos. In an inflationary context where price remains a key criterion, it also means helping consumers better perceive sustainable benefits, including long-term economic ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is where the legislator plays a key role, by putting everyone on a level playing field through regulation,\u201d added Vincent Canu. He emphasized the need not to penalize those choosing sustainability, and to integrate sustainability issues from product design, communication phases, or via mechanisms like bonus-malus or incentive taxation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulation is all the more essential because, in some cases, companies have no immediate incentive to improve. Regarding climate, for example, Martin Richer mentioned the \u201ctragedy of horizons,\u201d theorized by Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England \u2014 the disconnect between the time horizons of economic or political decision-makers and climate impacts weakens their incentives to act (source: ECB). \u201cA CEO can steer company strategy without ever seeing the consequences, due to a mandate that is not long enough,\u201d he lamented. He also referred to the economic theory of the \u201cfree rider,\u201d describing actors who benefit from others\u2019 efforts without contributing themselves. \u201cPollution has no borders. Why invest heavily in decarbonization if my neighbor does not?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such logics justify imposing constraints, but also other levers of action, Martin Richer continued, illustrating: \u201cFrance\u2019s most effective public policy in recent decades is probably road safety. It was based on a mix of incentives, constraints, and education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Data Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, companies must be able to concretely assess the effects of these transformations. The CSRD explicitly requires this, notably through ESRS E1, which obliges companies to anticipate potential financial impacts related to climate. This involves identifying physical risks (such as natural disasters) and transition risks (regulations, behavioral changes), then modeling their effects on revenues and costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But obtaining necessary data remains a challenge, especially beyond climate issues. \u201cAs soon as we move beyond carbon, data are scarcer, less accessible, or poorly structured,\u201d regretted Delphine Gibassier. Some sectors develop sectoral double materiality analyses. \u201cSuch initiatives, even if macro-level, help companies that cannot undertake such work alone to progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Access to quality information remains a central issue to rethink business models. \u201cWe lack data \u2014 and at the same time, we do not sufficiently organize their structuring,\u201d added Delphine Gibassier, advocating for \u201cthe creation of a public, standardized, and accessible database.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data needs vary depending on the level of transformation targeted, according to Cindy David: \u201cThere are two stages in business model transformation. The first is reducing impacts without changing the core model. We optimize processes, reduce consumption… But to achieve net zero or rethink nature impacts, one must go further. This requires questioning the offering, sometimes accepting to sell less, but better\u2026 That is when the real transformation of the business model happens. In the first phase, data are needed for optimization; in the second, one no longer transforms processes but the core model. There, the goal shifts from risk hedging to opportunity capture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in this second phase, it is no longer only about collecting indicators. \u201cWe enter a different logic: simulations, market studies, projections\u2026 One must test an idea, model an activity, assess its strategic and economic potential,\u201d Cindy David added. \u201cThis work largely relies on assumptions, as reliable data are not always available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this second transformation phase, not only operational functions but also strategic leadership must be mobilized. \u201cRethinking business models requires strong governance commitment, as well as time and managerial stability,\u201d emphasized Cindy David, who stressed the importance of a solid governance framework, based on independent directors, long-term aligned stable shareholders, and the ability of employees to report weak signals from the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transforming a model also requires engaging the ecosystem. Some companies explore cross-incentive mechanisms within their value chain. \u201cFor example, one of our clients created an internal fund to support low-environmental-impact R&D projects and offset additional costs for suppliers,\u201d illustrated J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Joos. This evolution highlights the need for cooperation at all levels to sustainably transform business models.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some companies had already begun strategic reflections around their business model and impact. For them, the CSRD merely formalizes initiatives already underway. These are often players with a long-term vision, notably mid-sized companies (ETIs) or family groups, for whom the priority is to strengthen the company\u2019s resilience. \u201cThe approach is more about risks and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1169,"href":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1168\/revisions\/1169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2030investirdemain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}